Heroes

Heroes are special units in the Kingdom Rush franchise. They are controlled by the player and can be commanded to move around the map, and will use abilities that differ between heroes. Unlike any other unit in the games, heroes will gain experience through battles to become more powerful.

On April 5 2012, a retina display screenshot taken from the (then) upcoming iPad showed a mage hero (presumed to be based on the Arcane Wizard), and revealed features such as a health bar, a level system, and an experience bar.

On April 25, 2012, Ironhide released the Heroes update to both PC and iOS devices, starting with a 66% discount on heroes the following day before the Rotten Forest update for iOS devices.

Gameplay

Hero movement is controlled with the finger/mouse. You can either tap/click the hero directly, then tap/click where you would like to move them, or tap/click his icon, then direct them to any path. While the hero cannot stand off the path, they will move over the environment, skirting the edges of obstacles to make the movement from A to B as quick as possible.

Heroes have stats similar to enemies. HP, Attack, Armor and Speed. These statistics vary from one hero to the next, designed to give each hero advantages and disadvantages. Heroes are immune to the instant kill attacks of regular enemies (but not bosses or level hazards). When a hero is defeated, they immediately start to heal, and will re-spawn after a certain length of time.

In Kingdom Rush, Heroes begin at level 1 and gain experience during a level by attacking enemies, before maxing out at level 10. With each new level they gain a boost in their HP and attacking strength. When a level ends, the hero reverts back to level 1. Hero stats are rated on a scale of 0 to 8 in terms of Health, Attack, Ranged Attack and Speed. No defense is stated on the Hero page however fully detailed stats are listed when the hero is highlighted in a level. Heroes have two abilities, unlocked when they reach certain levels, and gain in power just as their other stats do.

In Kingdom Rush: Frontiers, the hero experience changes. They begin at different levels based on when they are unlocked, and while they gain experience and levels as before, they maintain their levels outside of the level. Once a hero is maxed out at level 10, they remain so with fully increased stats. Hero stats are more defined than in the previous game, with numbers for each stat. When a hero levels up they earn hero points that can be spent on five different abilities. Heroes gain extra XP (experience point) in stages where higher Hero Level is expected; Hero Level 5 for Buccaneer's Den, 6 for Nazeru's Gates, 7 for Snapvine Bridge , 8 for Lost Jungle, 9 for Temple of Saqra, and 10 for The Underpass.

Kingdom Rush: Origins reuses the hero system from Frontiers, with a difference: each hero, instead of having five abilities like in Frontiers, now only have four abilities, with the fifth being replaced by a Hero Spell that can be upgraded with hero points like normal, but can be used by the player at any time, with an individual cool-down like the existing Spells.

Kingdom Rush: Vengeance uses almost the same system as Kingdom Rush: Origins. Four standard attacks and an Ultimate Spell (renamed from Hero spell due to the overall change in alingment). In addition, Heroes now have a passive ability that is in constant use. This ability cannot be upgraded, but is with the Hero from the first level. Heroes also have some fundamental differences that do not affect gameplay. Each hero has a unique death animation and always have a quote - as opposed to previous instalments, in which most heroes go out with a simple "Aah!" or "Noo!" In fact, the only Vengeance hero to have a simple scream upon death is Doom Tank SG-11 - in this case the Wilhelm Scream.

On the Flash version, Heroes are activated by paying 15 stars at the Hero Room on the World Map. Only the first three heroes are free, the others must be unlocked to be usable by purchasing the Premium Content.

On the mobile versions, the first three heroes are free and are unlocked by beating Pagras, Silveroak Forest and Coldstep Mines, respectively. The others can only be unlocked via in-app purchases:

$0.99: Bolin

$2.99: Magnus and Ignus

$4.99: Denas, Elora, Ingvar, Hacksaw, Oni, Thor

On the Steam version, all heroes are free and are unlocked by reaching certain stages:

It would appear that, like in the first Kingdom Rush, there is a hero for each tower type (though none for Demon Goonies or Soul Impact). The heroes are Veruk for Barracks, Asra for Archers, Oloch for Mages and Tramin for Artillery.